Somebody...anybody, please...
And then I see them. No, I hear them first. Techno music is blazing and I look up. There are rough looking men wearing cargo vests, sitting on speakers and carpets they brought out onto the sand. Big jeeps display in the background and they’re laughing, loudly talking and drinking and my mouth waters at the sight of liquid.
“Help me,” I pant, reaching for them with a trembling hand. They don’t hear me and I muster up all the strength I have, roaring at the top of my lungs, “Help meee!”
That gets them to react and several of them get up. I breathe out and roll onto my back.Everything’s gonna be fine, Kenna. You made it. I made it, didn’t I...?
I blink when faces look down at me and I gaze into eyes that don’t seem all that friendly and a shudder ripples down my spine. They say something to each other, looking like they’re scheming and I weakly fidget. I’m starting to regret calling out to them. I try to get up, try to get away and I scream when they yank me back and a black cloth covers my head.
“Mmph...what are you doing?” I scream when they clasp my hands behind my back, and they reply with one word that I do understand.
Auction.
****
We ride in their car as I go in and out of consciousness. I can feel the poison spreading, weakening my body. We stop and mean hands drag me out of the car. Where are we? There are sounds. Sounds of other people talking and bodies brush against me like we’re in a crowd and I open my mouth.
I try to speak but I can’t form any words. I’m barely able to walk upright and they have to drag me to get me to move. In the distance a sheep baa’s and I choke down a sob. What’s gonna happen to me? And what did they mean by auction? Is that what this is?
A place where you buy things? And sell them...
My head falls back and I groan in pain. I get yanked right up, the rough motion causing a stinging in my thigh and then I get shoved to my knees. It hurts when I hit what feels like wood. I pant and look around in every direction but I can’t see behind the cloth.
“Let me see!” I cry, my voice a mere whisper. “Remove the cloth!”
To my surprise they oblige and I blink when I notice the crowd. Its dark out but I can still distinguish their frames from the lamps that are lit all around us. None of them look like law abiding citizens and I drag a breath. I’m on a stage along with random objects such as furniture but also weapons and jewel ridden daggers. And diamonds. So many diamonds.
This is a market. A black market.
One of the men grins at me and he fists my hair. “You understand now?” His eyes glow with malice. “You will be sold to the highest bidder, pretty little tourist.” He drops me, putting his hands on his hips and he lets out a rumbling, evil laughter that makes my stomach recoil and I panic. I’m going to get sold, to whoever buys me and I pant, trying to stay focused but the poison is doing a number on me and my head rolls as do my eyes.
My surroundings are spinning, my limbs feeling heavy and I’m so freaking thirsty. And frail. Whoever buys me won’t have much use for me because I’m pretty sure I’m about to check out. Blinking, I struggle keeping my eyes open, trying not to topple on the stage but it’s hard staying on my knees. I lick my lips. Stupid! I shouldn’t have ever come here and a wave of sadness washes over me. I didn’t even get to the Nile River, didn’t get to show my boss what a savvy little working girl I am...
My head bobs again, eyes narrowing and in the dark I catch a movement in the crowd. A man, a head taller than everyone else and dressed in dark robes that cover his face. He moves like a cobra, slithering and looking like he’s ready to strike. He walks up to one of the men who bid on me and something happens... I can’t quite see what but the crowd sort of scatters, making a circle around him.
In the haze I’m in, I watch the man remove the robe from his face and my heart squirms in my chest. Shaved head, firm lips, even features, and eyes the color of onyx, lined with kohl and they stare right through me.
He shouts something I can’t understand and holds up his wrist. There’s a symbol inked on it and it looks like a dagger. And he gives a nod.
My seller yanks my head back. “Consider yourself lucky. You’ve just been sold.” He chuckles cruelly. “To the king of thieves.”
King of thieves...
King or not, he looks like a man who knows everything about poison. Maybe he’ll be my antidote. I let out a delirious laugh and then I pass out.
2.
Xerxes
Crowds. I avoid them as much as I can but we only arrive at the auction once a month or so, to acquire new daggers. The heat has settled down, the bidding about to begin and I lean back against a pillar. People pass me by, not paying me much attention which is what I prefer. The dark is where I’m the most comfortable. And the sand.
I lift my face when the bidding of the daggers starts and I nod at one of my men to let the offers roll. My eyes roam around the stage, frowning when I notice a slender woman with a black cloth over her head. She’s on her knees, dressed in a skirt that’s more office appropriate and hair the color of ripe bananas streams down her shoulders. I shift uncomfortably, though it’s none of my business. Some women who come from the underground, willingly sell themselves, knowing they’ll most likely be bought into a life of luxury.
And she’s not struggling, her body relaxed, her head slackening as if she’s impatient. I wonder what her face looks like and I clench my jaw when I notice my eyes moving down to her cleavage. It’s barely noticeable under her shirt and yet my palms suddenly itch. There have been years since I last was with a woman, my men and I are not the kind to sleep around. Most females are afraid of even going near us and adding to that we lead a life in the desert, away from civilization. We keep to ourselves and other people keep away.
The bidding of the girl begins and I straighten, simply out of pure curiosity. Two men seem intent on having her and I frown when I notice a shaking in the girl’s body. She’s excited isn’t she? Suddenly not as sure, I rub my jaw, moving closer to get a better view and my insides twist when the cloth is removed from the woman’s head.
Stunned, I stare as my whole body pounds. She must be in her early twenties with soft skin and big eyes that are terrified in her face. Pure terror. It’s an expression I can’t handle seeing on any woman, let alone this one and I move through the crowd, heading straight toward the man who’s about to win the bidding, who is about to winher. With a sneer, I pull up my dagger and shove the tip into his fleshy side.